Page 77 of Reckless
Did seeing Theo in the crib this morning take me back? Yes.
Did my conversation with him last night make me want to talk to her? Yes.
Do Theo and Vivi make me want to be a better person? Also, yes.
* * *
I swing by Le Pamplemousse, my favorite coffee shop in Chestnut Springs, and grab Theo a coffee. After days on end of him bringing me coffee with a smile on his face, I should return the favor.
But when I walk up to our matching bungalows, a flurry of butterflies erupts in my stomach. Last night we kissed. I yanked him down on me. He got an eyeful and walked away.
This is fine.Perfectly normal.I repeat positive sentences. I manifest that shit.
“Theo is a mature man. This is fine. We will be fine. It was just a pussy. He’s seen lots of pussies.”
The last part doesn’t actually make me feel better, so I bite down on my inner cheek to shut myself up. Peter trembles under my arm like he thinks I’m full of shit.
“Shut up, Peter,” I mumble as I open the gate into my front yard. From here, I can hear music coming from the house. The nearer I draw, the more the song takes shape. “Mystify” by INXS blares from inside, and I’m pretty sure I can hear Theo’s deep voice singing along.
With a shake of my head, I place Peter on the ground and unlock the front door. I step in and stop in my tracks.
Theo has on the same clothes he wore last night. A smiling Vivi is strapped to his chest in the floral-patterned Tula baby carrier I bought.
He’s singing to our daughter. And dancing. Andcleaning.
One hand rubs the back of her head like she’s some sort of crystal ball, while the other wipes at the white cabinets in the cottage-style kitchen.
The house smells like lemon Lysol. He’s cracked the windows, letting the summer morning breeze waft through. I’ve been out sipping a coffee while reading the newspaper and then visiting my sister and friends. A part of me feels guilty I haven’t been here helping.
Vivi stares up at him like he’s the most impressive man in the world. And fuck, she might be right.
But me? I’m just slack-jawed.
Frozen.
But Peter isn’t.
He trots right into the kitchen and yaps at Theo’s feet, surprising him right as he belts out another, “Mistifyyyyyy.”
Theo spins to take us in as he pulls his phone out of a back pocket to drop the volume. “Jesus, Peter. Warn a guy.”
“What are you doing?” My voice is full to the brim with disbelief as I look around my sparkling clean house.
Theo rolls his eyes at me. “Cleaning.”
“Why?”
He grins, gives me a wink, and blesses the side of my ass with a playful slap. “I just felt like it. That coffee for me, Tink?”
I glance down at the cup in my hand. “Yeah. I figured you’d need it after last night.” I’m acutely aware of the way his eyes blatantly rake over my body, trailing down and back up.
My cheeks heat as I wonder if he’s thinking about how I don’t look like I did the last time he saw me naked. I push those thoughts away, because none of that matters. We are just...not business partners, apparently.
Teammates? Co-parents?
Co-parents could work.
“Here.” I shove the coffee at him. Up close, he’s even hotter. His stubble has grown a little longer than the perfectly groomed shadow he usually sports, but it suits him. Even with a bit of darkness under his eyes...he’s just more rugged somehow. More masculine.
